If you happen to bump into Bill Gates or Tim Cook in Central Square in Cambridge, Mass., odds are good that they’re heading to the Engine. It’s a hub for startups operated by MIT, just across the street from the Middle East restaurant and club.
MIT announced the venture in 2016, as a way to supply funding and work space for companies building businesses around scientific and engineering breakthroughs — what some call “tough tech.” It can require five or 10 years of hard work to transform those kinds of breakthroughs from a successful lab experiment to a marketable product customers can buy. Gates has invested in companies that were born at the Engine, and Cook dropped by in 2017 to meet with some of the entrepreneurs.
Unlock this article by subscribing to STAT Plus and enjoy your first 30 days free!
GET STARTEDWhat is it?
STAT Plus is STAT's premium subscription service for in-depth biotech, pharma, policy, and life science coverage and analysis. Our award-winning team covers news on Wall Street, policy developments in Washington, early science breakthroughs and clinical trial results, and health care disruption in Silicon Valley and beyond.
What's included?
- Daily reporting and analysis
- The most comprehensive industry coverage from a powerhouse team of reporters
- Subscriber-only newsletters
- Daily newsletters to brief you on the most important industry news of the day
- STAT+ Conversations
- Weekly opportunities to engage with our reporters and leading industry experts in live video conversations
- Exclusive industry events
- Premium access to subscriber-only networking events around the country
- The best reporters in the industry
- The most trusted and well-connected newsroom in the health care industry
- And much more
- Exclusive interviews with industry leaders, profiles, and premium tools, like our CRISPR Trackr.
